Traveling border discharge tube display



March 13, 1934. F. HOTCHNER TRAVELING BORDER DISCHARGE TUBE DISPLAY oriihal Filed Dec.

INVENTORV PatenteddMar. 13, 1934 PATENT OFFICE TBAVEIJNG BORDERDISCHARGE TUBE DISPLAY Fred Hotchner, Los Angeles, Calif. Continuationof application Serial No. 156,056,

December 20, 1926. This 1929, Serial No. 384,170

. 8 Claim.

This invention relates to a traveling border discharge tube display andthe object thereof is to Produce a novel and attractive effect for anelectric display in which discharge tubes are used i as the illuminatingelements in a traveling border. Heretofore similar efiects have beenproduced by the connection of a number of short lengths of tubingtogether in a design of the type of a border and by suitable connectionsto a flasher the effect of shadows traveling through the design isproduced by the illumination in a given order of the tubes. This methodis extremely expensive because of the great number of units anduneconomical in operation because of the excessive energy loss when thetubing is used in short lengths due to the fact that amount of energyconsumed without the production of useful radiation at the electrode isso great that tubes short enough to use for the purpose stated have veryI low efficiency. All traveling border effects of the prior art known tomyself produce a traveling effect by the shifting of dark spots ineflect through the border continuously in one direction. The borders arethus not continuous to the eye but consist of a series of light sectionsbroken by the dark spots. It is one of the objects of this invention toprovide a traveling effect in a border which is continuous and has nodark spots to break it up.

It has also been proposed to use several tubes together in a design andarrange them in parallel relationship, pointing out the major portion ofeach tube leaving exposed consecutive sections of the several tubes.This method while reducing the number of the electrodes is also veryinefiicient because of the large proportion of energy consumed withoutthe utilization of the radiation generated thereby.

The present invention provides a border in 40 which the tubes may bemade in as great a length as construction expedients permit. The entireenergized column is utilized with the exception of the very smallportions in the ends of the tubes where they turn into the body of thesign. The border may be made with an appreciable width thus increasingits attraction value and numerous designs may be used in the layout ofthe tubing within the scopeof the invention. The present inventionprovides a border which produces a traveling effect without showingbreaks to the eye in the border itself. At all instants of time theborder appears continuous. The effect is very smooth, attractive andconvincing.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing,although it is to be. un-

application August '1,

derstood that the invention is not limited to the particular form shownbut only by the prior art and the limitations imposed by the appendedclaims.

Figure 1 is a view of a portion of an electric sign having a travelingborder made according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the border with theportion of the body upon which it is mounted shown broken away from theremainder of the sign to illustrate the relation of the various elementsto each other and the method 01' supporting the tubes from the signbody.

Figure 3 is a wiring diagram illustrating one satisfactory method offlashing the tubes.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams-illustrating the sequence of theflashing of the tubes as eifected by the device shown diagrammaticallyin Figure 3 and calculated to assist in a visualization of the eifeetproduced.

In the drawing a border is illustrated on a typical electric sign. Thesign is indicated by the numeral 1; the display face by 2; the lettersby 3; and the border by 4.

The border is composed of the sinuous or undulatory discharge tubes 5,6, "I; 5, 6', '7', etc. The length of the tubes is determined by theexpedicuts of manufacture, the border consisting, so

far as the efiect is concerned, of three tubes extending the lengththereof. If desired for practical reasons the tubes may be made insections as short as desired and connected together electrically intogroups followingthe general arrangements of the single tubes of thedrawing. This might be done for instance, for the purpose of avoiding orreducing the cross over arrangement here shown. The tubes are providedwith electrode terminals in the usual manner extending into bushings inthe body of the sign and supported from the body of the sign byinsulating posts as shown in Figure 2. The posts for supporting the tubefurthest from the body are indicated by 8, the posts supporting theintermediate tube by 9, and the post supporting the tube 16. As appliedto the sign shown in Figure 1, each of the tubes in the diagram wouldrepresent one series of tubes such as the entire group 5, 5 5 5 etc.,which would be flashed together, usually connected in series. Theprimary coils of the transformers are connected together with oneterminal of each coil common and connected to one supply wire 1'7, andthe other terminals connected to the three terminals 18, 19, 20 of thecontactor 21 in such manner that upon the rotation of the rotor 22 thetransformers are activated in rotation. The rotor is connected to theother supply wire 23.

The diagrams in Figures 4, 5 and 6, illustrate the sequence ofillumination of the tubes as effected by the contactor showndiagrammatically in Figure 3. An exact visualization of the opticaleffect cannot be realized from a line drawing due to the fact that theeffect is very much of the nature of an illusion. Not merely the lightradiating directly from tubes is received by the eye, contributing tothe'illusion but also the reflected radiation from the body of the sign.While the effect here described is referred to in this specification asa "traveling border it is to beunderstood that this term is only usedbecause no other is available in the vocabulary of the industry.

, Instead of forming the border with three lines of tubing as shown inthe illustration, four or more lines of tubing may be used if desiredwith advantageous results. The particular design shown is merelyillustrative as many other designs having the same general relationshipof tubes may be used.

It is particularly to be noted that the entire length of the tube iseffective, with the exception, of course, of the short sections at theends which are turned back into the sign to make terminals. As each tubeis lighted it presents to the eye a continuous undulatory line of lightalong the border without breaks or dark spots. Likewise when the borderis composed of a number of shorter tubes, as in Figure 1, the lightingof each series of tubes presents to view a continuous undulatory linethroughout the entire border. Thus when the tubes (or the series) areflashed, one at a time in sequence, the effect produced is that of theundulatory line shifting lengthwise through the border. Thus if we flashthe tubes in a continuous sequence (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. 1, etc.) theborder appears to shift bodily continuously in one direction.

This effect is distinctly different from the prior art travelingborders, all of which to the best of my knowle ge are characterized bythe effect of shadows r ning through a border rather than that of theborder itself shifting.

This same flowing effect is produced by lighting two tubes at a time,leaving one tube off, and flashing by lighting a tubein advance whiledropping out a tube behind, thus: First instant, 1 and 2 are lighted and3 dark; second instant, 2 and 3 are lighted and 1 dark; third instant 3and 1 are lighted and 2 dark; and the operation repeated. Any number oftubes over three may be used in the border, and in such cases any numberless than the whole number of tubes may be lighted in each instant ofthe operation with the remainder dark. Thus, in a border of four tubes,one tube may be on with three tubes off, twomay be on with two off, orthree may be on with one off.

It is to be noted that it is also possible to make fractional divisionsof the proportion of tubes on and off during the operation. Thus in thecase of a three tube border thecontacts may be so made that they overlapin their operation, being longer than necessary to flash one tube at atime and shorter than necessary to flash two tubes on at a time. As aconsequence, we will have this condition: At one instant just one tubewill be lighted, then the next tube will come on with the firstmentioned tube held on for an instant when it goes off leaving thesecond tube on which burns alone for an instant and then the third tubecomes on before the second tube goes off, and so forth. The result willbe that, considered the cycle of operations through, one and a fractiontubes were lighted with one and a fraction tubes dark.

This application is a continuation of the application filed by myself onDecember 20, 1926, Serial No. 156,056, entitled Discharge tube signs,which was inadvertently abandoned without abandoning the inventiondescribed and claimed therein.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. As a means for producing by luminous devices a visual effectindicative of progressive motion the combination with at least threeelongated luminous elements arranged in staggered and overlappingrelationship in the line of motion and means for causing theillumination of said elements in a given order.

2. An electric display consisting of a plurality of luminous tubesarranged in undulating lines to form a design, there being more than twoof said lines and the tubes in said lines being of similar formationwhereby the lines are substantially repetitions of each other, the formsin the tubes of each line being offset lengthwise of the lines from thecorresponding forms in the other lines and means for flashing the tubesto illuminate the lines in a given order.

3. An electric display consisting of a plurality of luminous tubesarranged in undulating lines to form a design, there being more than twoof said lines and the tubes in said lines being of similar formationwhereby the lines are substantially repetitions of each other, the formsin the tubes of each line being offset lengthwise of the lines from thecorresponding forms in the other lines and means for flashing the tubesto illuminate the lines in a given order the lines in which 125 thetubes are arranged being criss crossed.

4. An electric display for producing a visual effect indicative ofprogressive motion along a certain path comprising in combination aplurality of elongated luminous elements said ele- 130 merits havingportions of similar form located in similar positions transversely ofsaid path but spaced endwise along said path with respect to adjacentelements and means for illuminating and darkening said elements in agiven order 5 along said path, said means maintaining more elementsilluminated than dark.

5. A plurality of luminous tubes assembled to form an elongated designin which more than two similar sinuous lines are represented therebyextending generally in the direction of the longest dimension of saiddesign, overlapping each other, and the formations of the same beingdisplaced from each other in the direction of said design, whereby theenergization of the tubes in said 145 lines one line after the otherpresents to view a sinuous line which appears to shift continuously inone direction, and means for flashing said tubes one at a time in suchorder.

6. A border display comprising a plurality of 150 luminous tubesassembled to form an elongated design in which more than two similarsinuous lines are represented by said tubes, extending in the directionof said border, overlapping each other to the view, and the formationsthereof being displaced from each other in the direction of said borderwhereby the energization of said tubes one after the other creates thevisual impression of the movement of a sinuous line of light from'oneposition to another in one direction through said border, said positionscorresponding to said lines, and means to flash said tubes one at a timein such order.

'7. An electric display consisting of a plurality of luminous tubesarranged in undulating lines to form a design, there being more than twoof said lines and the tubes in said lines being of similar formationwhereby the lines are substantially repetitions of each other, the formsin the tubes in each line being offset lengthwise of the lines from thecorresponding forms in the other lines, and means to illuminate saidtubes in such order that a pair of said lines present an illuminateddesign and appear to shift through said border in one directioncontinuously from position to position, said positions corresponding indistance to the displacement between the lines. 8. An electric displayconsisting of a plurality of luminous tubes arranged in undulating linesto form a design, there being more than two of said lines criss crossingeach other and the tubes in said lines being of similar formationwhereby the lines are substantially repetitions of each other, the formin the tubes in each line being olfset lengthwise of the lines from thecorresponding forms in the other lines, and flashing means to illuminatesaid tubes in a continuously repeated sequence in which two adjacentlines are illuminated at a time and appear to shift continuously in onedirection through said border.

FRED HOTCHNER.

ISO

